I currently have the BFG AT's in a 31. As some of you know, I'm lifting my truck next weekend and am looking at getting 33x10.5x15. After reading some reviews, I'm not sure which to get. Delaware has snow during the winters. Sometimes deep, sometimes just icy/snowy mix on the road. Does anyone have KM2's on their daily driver? How are the KM2's on snowy road surfaces and on rainy surfaces?

 

Do it!!!! The KM2's that is.

 

I love my KM2s. They perform great! Its been raining here for the past couple days and they've been getting good traction. They're pretty quiet too compared to other MTs.

 

I love my KM2's. They're not too loud. Ride real good. Just make sure you keep up on your tire rotations.

 

Anyone with snow experience and the KM2's?

 

not me personally, but a lot of people i know in reno have the km2's and they love them for the snow. then again, the a/t isnt all that bad on snow either, and might be a bit cheaper for you wallet.

I love how the KM2's look and if i were actually buying another set of tires for this truck and keeping it, i'd rock the KM2s

 

Thats my dilemma. I know the AT's are good in snow. They've been tested here past two years. And I do need a good snow tire BUT I LOVE the look of the KM2's. More aggressive than the AT's.

 

You might notice a slight drop in MPG with the KM2s. I've gone around and around with my decision. I decided to stick with the A/Ts. I offroad fairly often, but have you ever been wheeling or driving in snow and wished that you had M/Ts? How often? A few times in really deep snow I've wished I've had M/T/s. Other than that, the extra cost, shorter tread life, and decrease in MPG however slight these factors are, don't seem to be worth it for the once or twice a year when I'm in deep snow. A locker or a good LSD would be a better investment than M/Ts in my opinion. I'm assuming it's also your DD.

 

My girlfriends about to take my truck out in the snow at her school in a few hours, I'll find out how she liked it.

 

I thought about KM2's but I still like the A/T's. Unless you are in real greasy stuff, A/Ts are fine. I don't like the mud and I have wheeled a fair amount in Colorado and really haven't found to many places the A/Ts wouldn't get me with a little careful tire placement and finesse.

 

exactly. i prolly wont put another mud tire on my trucks again unless its goin on a wheeling/huntin truck or i get a hell of a deal on them. in the snow/ice storm we had back at the end of feb, early march in the midwest i had street tires on my truck and didnt get hung up or spin once. they were stampede radial SUVs. heres the tire: STAMPEDE RADIAL SUV

 

I won't try to sway you in either direction, but I'll tell you how my KM2's were last winter.
The winter here is fairly mild, we only had a couple of weeks with some snow in the ground, and generally no more than a couple of inches. But we had the 'ice storm' with TONS of freezing rain and ice buildup that took down trees and lines, enough to take the power out for weeks in some places. My KM2s worked great in the ice and snow. They seemed every bit as good as any other all terrain or mud terrain I have owned. No problems with light dustings of snow, 3+ inches, or 1" of solid ice on the ground. Granted, the tires were near new at the time but they worked well. In heavy downpours they do not hydroplane in standing water either.
If you are worried about snow/ice performance with them, I would recommend having them siped (center tread blocks cut 1/4" deep by 1/4" apart). It makes a great deal of different in snow and ice, even on just wet roads. I had several sets of mud tires siped, and I would have had these done as well, but I wanted to see how they worked without it. So far, very well. Sure I can spin them both if I TRY when the ground is wet, but I could do the same with any all terrains too.

So far in this truck, I have only really needed mud terrains a few times, but like I have said before, it is worth it when you need it (to me).

It's hard to tell, but the ground is covered in solid ice here. All the tire marks and lighter stuff is ice that the tires have chewed up a bit. No issues moving up and down hills, through frozen yards, etc clearing trees up.


Again, still covered mostly in ice (see mailbox) with a dusting of snow on top.

 

I love mine!!!! great on and off road. Can't say much about snow and ice for i live in the south....but they do really well on wet roads and have a GREAT tread life!!. mike (sonic04edge) has the excat same size tire and he loves'em....but i will say i would prob go with the 33x12.5....they'll give you a lil wider footprint and they'll be ok on the 7" wide rim!!

btw...will not make a difference in gas mileage just because its a mud tire but will because your runnin a bigger tire. So it would be the same if you were gonna run a km2 or a A/T.

 

I've heard from a few friends and I've read somewhere on here that it will slightly decrease MPG. It makes sense as they have more rolling resistance vs a more "rounded" or smoother highway tire or all terrain. Either way, you'll be making a good choice Brenda. Both tires are excellent choices.

 

Mud tires run normally bigger than ATs anyway. Like a 32x11.5 MT will be a little bigger than a 32x11.5 AT. It won't be much difference, maybe like .5 MPG or something.

 

I'm concerned about the 12.5 bulging out. That can't be good for them.

 

It doesn't hurt them, just make sure you keep up with rotations. Brian and I both run 12.5" tires on 7.5" rims with no problems

 

Thanks Trent. I really wanted the 12.5 but didn't think it would be good to run em that way. Now the thought of having 12.5's makes me much happier!

 

Yeah its been done before. Your going to have to play with the pressure though to see what gets the best tread contact for wear.

 

Lots of people run them on 7", it is just not recommended due to tire wear.
I run 38psi front, and 34ish in the back on the F150 to get decent wear. Normally the fronts will actually wear a little more on the outside because the tire will flex a little more when cornering. The back will usually wear the middle from accelerating. I rotate every 3k miles and they wear evenly like this.
You will have to run 12.5" tires with a little less pressure than you would on an 8" or wider wheel for good wear, which means the sidewalls won't be as solid in cornering. I don't think it is unsafe, but you can feel it a little more.
If it makes you feel any better, Zach runs a 13" wide tire on a 7.5" wheel on his F150, and so does Jason (rngprerunner).
The only thing that comes to mind is the sway bar on the ranger, and whether or not the 12.5" tires would contact the sway bar and rub a little at full lock (with stock wheels). I think some do and some do not, but the KM2 sidewall lugs do not stick out like a lot of others.

 

or look into a 33X10.50 might be a little better for a dd.

 

i have 10.50 tires and i wish i had 12.50s

 

Clearly you did not read the thread, or even the first post.

 

brenda, i know the 12.5 will look better than the 10.5 but the narrower tire will be better in the snow. wider tires tend to be squirly in the snow. also when i switched from 33x10.5 AT's to 33x12.5 KM2's i didnt notice any drop in mileage at all, i was quite suprised by that.